Ongoing Jobless Claims Close In on Pre-COVID Average

States reported that 216,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits during the week ending Dec. 17, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The number of workers continuing to claim unemployment benefits—1.67 million— has been steadily rising through the year and is now just under the pre-pandemic average of 1.7 million.
Source: New feed 2